Interactive Brokers Now Accepts Stablecoins in a Bid to Remain Competitive
Interactive Brokers (IBKR), the Greenwich, Connecticut–based brokerage firm, will allow U.S. retail clients to fund their brokerage accounts using stablecoins. The rollout will begin for a portion of eligible U.S. clients.
This move is designed to keep IBKR competitive in the retail trading market, joining the ongoing expansion of its cryptocurrency trading capabilities. Stablecoin funding enables users to fund accounts directly from cryptocurrency wallets, bypassing traditional bank transfers.
IBKR, which competes with platforms like Robinhood and Charles Schwab, recently led a $104 million funding round for the crypto infrastructure firm ZeroHash in October, a deal that valued ZeroHash at $1 billion. This investment signals IBKR's increasing involvement in the broader crypto infrastructure space.
IBKR chairman Thomas Peteterffty announced the new stablecoin funding capability during a Goldman Sachs conference, which was later confirmed by a company spokesperson via email. The firm has previously explored options such as issuing its own stablecoin and permitting third-party tokens for account funding. CoinDesk’s requests for additional comment from the firm went unanswered.
